Delhi blast: Lajpat Rai market reopens, but traders say fear will delay return to normalcy

Lajpat Rai Market, one of Old Delhi’s busiest electronics hubs, reopened on Saturday after remaining shut for several days following the deadly blast near the Red Fort earlier this week. But traders say it may be days — if not weeks — before business and footfall return to normal.

The market had been largely closed since Monday’s explosion, which killed 13 people and led to heavy security restrictions across the area. Many shopkeepers kept their shutters down as police cordoned off the surrounding routes, and customers stayed away amid widespread fear.

Rakesh Kumar, who runs an electronics shop in the market, said he had arrived at his store only minutes before the incident. “I came here only two years ago, and that evening I was standing outside when three blasts happened,” he recalled. “The first one sounded like a normal CNG cylinder burst, the kind we hear sometimes. But the second was so loud that it felt like the ground had split.”

He said he saw a fireball after the third explosion. “It looked like the sun had suddenly risen outside. It must have been around 6.50 pm. At that moment, nearly a thousand people were inside the market,” he said.

According to Kumar, confusion was the first reaction among those nearby. “Somebody said a vehicle had caught fire, so people didn’t panic instantly. But then the police quickly blocked the route and asked everyone to move. If they had not managed the crowd, there could have been a stampede with so many people around,” he said.

He added that the first ambulance arrived within 15 minutes of the blast. “Police were already present in small numbers, but they handled the situation well.”

For many shopkeepers, reopening has brought mixed emotions — some relief to be back at work but significant uncertainty about how long recovery will take. Rajinder Singh, who runs a lighting shop, said customers remain wary. “It will take time for things to become normal. Tourists won’t come until the fear settles, and even customers from Delhi are hesitant,” he said.

Traders say the timing is especially painful, coming in the middle of the busy wedding season. Several orders, they said, have either been postponed or cancelled altogether. “People are scared. Some clients shifted their functions to January or February. There is business loss, but more than that, there is nervousness among traders,” Singh added.

With other markets near the Red Fort slowly reopening and security agencies continuing their investigation, shopkeepers remain cautiously hopeful. They say footfall will return once the shock wears off and visitors regain a sense of safety.

“We just want things to calm down,” Kumar said. “The market is open today, but the fear will take time to go away.”